Camping With Chad
by wildcat4life
Summary: Chad thinks he doesn't see his friends enough so he takes the gang camping for Labor Day weekend. Various mishaps happen to everyone during the trip with Zeke and Sharpay's wedding coming up and Troy and Gabriella preparing for their new baby.
1. Your 'Bright' Idea

Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any such thing involved.

Troy's point of view.

I don't know how. I just don't know. I don't know how a guy's best friend could be so awesome but at the same time still be so _stupid_! Sometimes I wondered if it made me stupid for even being his best friend. I had not a clue. I stood silent. I was looking at my close friends whom were all sitting in the room with me. All of us were seated on the long couch. Don't ask why. It will probably be the craziest thing you're going to find out. At least, that's how it makes me feel. As for the rest of the people in the room, I'm not too sure how they feel about it. But judging by the expressions on each of their faces, I could tell they were thinking the same thing I was this very moment.

"No way, man!" Zeke blurted. I blinked twice and turned my head to see Zeke with an angered expression. I sighed as I tilted my head forward, agreeing with the simple sentence he put. I looked over at my best friend of sixteen years, whom had a hopeless look on his own face. A look that indicated that he felt hurt and shut down by Zeke's outburst. A look that only I could recognize and read so well, I thought it was pathetic.

A pain tugged at my temples. I was beginning to get a headache just from the overwhelming thought of sitting here and listening to him speak his peace. But let's just cut the crap right here. The whole reason for this gathering of me, my wife, and best friends is because Chad Kennith Danforth had an idea in mind. An idea that not only I wanted to kill him for, but an idea that is so simple, yet ridiculous because of certain conditions. And naturally, Chad had a funny sob story to go with his reason for this plan...

_Flashback-_

_The sun peeked through the window, nearly blinding twenty-one year old Chad as he lifted himself out from underneath the covers. He rubbed the sleep from hi eyes and blinked them to adjust the the sun shining through the drapes of his apartment. Once his mind was put together by images of his room, now realizing he was awake, he sighed as he searched for the current time of the day. _

_'9:48 am' he mumbled to no one as he left his bed to go pee. After a few minutes of trying to fully wake himself up, he stumbled on into the kitchen, wearing nothing other than boxer shorts and a navy blue T-shirt, and opened his refrigerator door. Chad grimaced at the sight of what was in his fridge. Inside, everything was messy and gross-looking. There were one week old Chinese takeaway boxes stuffed in the back of the fridge with open sodas and beer bottles, and much more messy things beyond its point. He searched for milk high and low in the mess only to find out that the half empty carton of milk that was left was curdled and spoiled. He closed the fridge, feeling discouraged. _

_'So much for a bowl of cereal even' he muttered disappointingly. He walked around the kitchen aimlessly, hoping to find a compromise for breakfast._

_'No money in my pocket, so no going out to eat' he thought. How his stomach rumbled in protest, he couldn't think straight. He slouched over on the couch and rubbed his face giving up. He looked up to the ceiling and thought to himself. _

_He felt worthless and mentally sick of his lifestyle. He looked around at his apartment and sighed again. He didn't like the way he lived. His apartment was a mess, he had nothing more to do with his day besides go to school and work, and on certain occasions see his girlfriend when she wasn't busy. _

_Taylor McKessie was definitely always busier than Chad, which usually made him feel like a waste of her time because he was usually a lazy pig. But regardless, she still loved the goofball. And he definitely loved her too. He felt like he had no life without her in it. But currently, she had been the only once he's seen since his friends were now doing their own thing nowadays. _

_Sharpay and Zeke were getting ready for their grand wedding that was coming up after Labor Day. Troy and Gabriella were getting prepared for their new baby boy that was to be born sometime after Labor Day weekend and were still managing their three year old daughter. And Kelsi and Ryan had much to do about writing musicals for their elementary school they taught music at. Clearly they were definitely busier than him. Chad felt like he was the only one left that needed to shape up. He felt like if he didn't soon, he would lose his friends forever and the love of his life. He didn't want it. Overall, he had missed his friend's company. Especially Troy, whom had a lot to deal with now that his wife of two years was pregnant again and his life had been pretty hectic. He missed being around Troy and reeking havoc with him and making his life miserable whenever he got the chance_

_Soon there was a knock at his door. He wondered who it could be._

_'They probably want to evict me and repossess everything I own' he thought negatively as he got off of the sofa and went to answer the door. It was his truly. His love and the light to his dark world, Taylor Arman McKessie._

_She came through with a smile so bright and so heat-filled, it made Chad melt. Her milk-chocolate skin so shiny and healthy looking and her smiley features stole his heart right out of his chest. He planted a kiss on her soft lips and felt her embrace. Every time she came through that door, it felt like he hadn't seen her in an eternity, he loved her so much._

"_'Morning, bed head" Taylor teased as she ruffled his brown frizzy hair and walked passed him, having him follow the sweet scent of her body spray and the smell that came from a small pink bag that she brought with her._

"_What's in the bag?" He asked jokingly. Taylor chuckled sensing his humor. She pulled out a freshly baked chocolate chip muffin. His favorite. She slowly moved the treat to his mouth where he gladly took a bite from it. Resulting to Taylor to smile at her boyfriend of three year and a half years to and Chad feeling satisfied to have food in his mouth and his love in his sight._

"_Ever heard of cleaning?" she commented, making Chad's mood slap down. Back to reality, it went._

"_I haven't found the time to" he said scratching his head and ruffling his curls back into place. He looked around his apartment and felt embarrassment slap him in his face. There were clothes scattered everywhere and there were dishes left out with discarded food objects that were in their first degree rotting stage. His apartment was a pig sty._

"_Well you'd better unless you want the health inspector to have you evicted just because you're too lazy to clean your own apartment" Taylor sighed as she folded some of the clothes on his floor. He had went and disposed of the garbage that had been sitting in the kitchen for over a week and begun cleaning the apartment. He felt it was good if he did, that way he could find some kind of motivation. After being helped by Taylor, his apartment was spotless. His fridge was empty, but clean. Luckily for him, Taylor offered to pay for his groceries. Such a considerate girl he had._

"_Tay?" Chad said grabbing her attention from putting away the last pile of laundry she folded._

"_Hmm?" she responded with a light smile painted on her dark complexion. _

"_Can we talk?" he asked her, his expression growing troubled. She nodded and then followed him back into the living room and sat down on the sofa. She sat closely beside him and stroked his brown spiral locks._

"_What's going on, Chad?" she asked with her voice being soft and soothing to him as she stroked his hair._

"_I've been thinking a lot lately" he paused. She sat up straight._

"_I don't think I'm too comfortable with the way my life is going lately" he started but then was quickly interrupted by a now anxious and worried Taylor._

"_Chad, are you breaking up with me?" she asked, sounding very frantic in her voice._

_Chad shook his head quickly and reassuringly, "No, no, no, I'm not. I promise. I'm trying to say that I'm tired of waking up in the morning and doing the same old thing I do every day" he explained. _

_Taylor exhaled and calmed herself. She tried to understand where Chad was getting at with his wishful thinking. "How do you mean?" she asked._

"_I mean, I'm sick of just going to school, going to work and working my ass off for nothing, coming home and moping around in my own mess, wishing I could hang out with my friends again" he sighed. It hurt chad to think about the old days when him and his buddies were in high school. He missed those days._

"_I want to do something with everyone just one more time before we all get completely settled into our own lives" he thought. Taylor looked more confused than ever. She didn't know how she could help Chad over come this need. She knew that everyone had been too busy to hang out, so chances were, he wouldn't get a chance to get the gang together unless someone's funeral was coming up. Sad as it was, it was true._

"_What did you have in mind?" she asked._

_Chad thought long and hard with only a moment to spare before he could respond. He wanted the gang to come together and have a good time like they used to. He thought of many ways but none of them seemed good enough to do. Then it came to him. Probably the best idea he could come up with. It was fun, filled with activities, and it could be a really cool weekend._

"_Camping" Chad muttered as he started blankly at the dark television screen. His idea escaped in words through his mouth. _

_If this were a cartoon, Taylor's brain would literally turn to goo and she would go extremely insane and start hitting herself on the head with a mallet and flapping her lips with her single index finger while making a noise indicating that she was a dummy. But this was the real world. So instead; her mouth opened a bit, and tried to bite her tongue from telling Chad how incredibly stupid the idea was. But to avoid crushing his spirit, she just looked at him and replied with a simple "Huh?"_

"_I said, we should go camping! It's a great idea!" Chad said cheerfully, truly believing that it was the best idea._

_Taylor on the other hand looked at the facts before she could fully comprehend the idea. _

_**-Its over 100 degrees outside. 100 degree summer weather, a pregnant mother, a three year old girl, a music obsessed woman, and a materialistic bride-to-be, equals a weekend of hell.**_

_**-Troy is too nervy when it comes to separation from his wife, Zeke goes crazy without his easy bake set, Ryan doesn't get along with mother nature too well when he's angry. **_

_**-Taylor possibly being blamed for agreeing to go on the trip and Chad being a lousy guide and a dictator... IT JUST WOULDN'T WORK OUT!**_

_After shuddering and getting the horrendous images of her friends riding her ass for a possible camping-trip-gone-wrong moved out of her head, she looked at her boyfriend whom was still excited about the plan. Taylor chuckled nervously, wondering how to break it to Chad that it wasn't the best idea._

"_Chad... Um... Honey?" Taylor tried to say, after snapping Chad out of his own little world._

"_What's up?" he asked with a grin so big, it made it even harder for Taylor to tell him. But she knew she couldn't let him dumb down just for believing he was capable of planning a cool vacation when, clearly, he wasn't._

_Taylor tripped on her breath. "Don't take this the wrong way, but.." she paused. Chad frowned, knowing she was bound to crush his dream at some point within the time he mentioned it._

"_What?" he responded impatiently. Taylor sighed heavily and looked at Chad, almost as if she was telling him something that was beyond words to speak._

_'Why does he have to be so damn sensitive? This would be so much easier to say if he wasn't such an oaf!' Taylor thought bitterly. She broke away from her thought and resumed._

"_I just don't think its such a good idea" she got out. Chad bowed his head, feeling broken._

"_Why not, Tay? All I want to do is get the gang together just one last time. Is that too much to ask?" he ranted in a whiny voice._

"_I'm not saying that getting the gang together is a bad thing. I'm saying that the whole 'camping' idea. Not the best" she said._

"_Come on, baby. Just think about it.." he paused, lacing his fingers with hers and moving behind her back, leaning against her. Taylor smiled._

"_Us cruising on a raft out in the lake, a nice camp fire, good food. And just doing things fund stuff with our best friends" he said trying to sound convincing. Taylor knew he tried but it still wasn't good enough for her to give in._

"_I don't know, Chad" Taylor said softly. Chad's lips found their way to her neck- her 'weak spot', he liked to put it. He kissed her neck until she felt weak in her knees._

"_Please?" he begged continuing to kiss her neck. Taylor resisted as much as she could but Chad knew all too well he had reeled her in by then. _

"_Fine!" Taylor pouted. Chad backed off of her and turned her around to look her in her eyes._

"_Really?" he asked making sure that she approved._

"_Yes, Chad. Let's take the gang camping with us" she finally gave in. Chad looked so happy. Taylor turned her head for a minute so that Chad couldn't see the look of anguish on her face. She already knew she was going to regret this._

End of Flashback.

Still Troy's point of view.

So there you have it. The sob story of Chad Kennith Danforth and how his dumb ass thought it would be a good idea to take all of us camping with him. I couldn't begin to explain how I truly felt about the idea. I only knew that Chad had lost his mind for even thinking about it. He obviously didn't knew the mayhem it would cause. It was Labor Day weekend and so things were already crazy since people in town were trying to enjoy the last few weeks of Summer. And with my wife being heavily pregnant, whom was supposed to give birth soon, Sharpay and Zeke''s wedding coming up in a week, and Kelsi and Ryan's obligations taking place, it was all at a inconvenient time.

"I don't think so, Chad" Kelsi said timidly but still knowing that she really couldn't take Chad up on the offer.

"Come on, you guys!" Chad exclaimed. His whiny voice tried my last nerve with his bonehead ideas. Why was it so important to him if we all joined him for camping or not? Clearly, he didn't see the things we all had to do that were important to us. My wife looked at me with furrowed brows as she stroked her very large stomach gently. All I could do was sigh and rub her back and keep her calm until we heard Chad out. Camping did seem like a fun idea but the timing was bad.

"I mean, you guys are all doing your own thing, so why can't we just do things together just this one weekend?" he asked, staring at all of our expressions.

"Well, Ryan and I have tons of songs to write for our elementary school's play coming up next month, so we're booked solid" Kelsi said while Ryan nodded agreeing with his girlfriend. Chad frowned and looked at Zeke and Sharpay.

"We definitely can't! Our wedding is coming up next week!" Sharpay said.

"And I still have to prepare recopies for the cooks that are doing the dinner for the reception" Zeke added. Chad's face drooped more. He looked at Gabriella and I, hoping we would at least warm up to it. I looked at my wife occasionally, seeing what she might have thought. I sighed and rubbed my face with my free hand. I didn't know if I should tell him 'yes' or 'no'. If I said yes, I would have been enduring hell from my wife the whole trip. And If I had said no, I would have been dealing with Chad dwelling on this forever and possibly losing my mind and my best friend. I had to think fast. But I couldn't let either words escape my mouth just yet. I wanted to go but then I had to think about the condition Gabriella was in. It would be hard enough for her to camp with her swollen belly and trying to manage our daughter at the same time. I knew she wasn't up to it.

"You know, Chad-" I begun to say before I saw his expression growing sadder as I continued my sentence. How was I supposed to do this? It almost felt like telling a little kid that Santa Clause doesn't exist.

"Don't get me wrong. I know I'm your best friend and I should feel good that you're asking me to do all of these fun things with you but" I paused. He widened his eyes, signaling me to tell him what was really up.

"A lot of us just can't do it right now. I mean, we all have things that we need to take care of by the end of next week" I said finally. Chad looked so disappointed. I felt bad for him. I knew he missed all of us and wanted to spend as much time with us as he could before we went our separate ways again but, at this point it was almost impossible. It was times like this I wished Chad had a more stable life for himself. That way, I wouldn't be sitting here in his living room feeling guilty that I told him 'no'; or feeling obligated to tell him 'yes' because I felt sorry for him. Even though I gave him an explanation, he still didn't look like he was going to give up.

"Guys, just hear me out. Kelsi and Ryan, why don't you two just work on the songs _during_ the trip, and Sharpay and Zeke, you guys plan your wedding once we get to the cabins, and Troy and Gabriella, just make sure to pack extra things just in case Gabby goes into labor. Plus, there's a hospital right down the road from the lake. Please you guys?" he begged having a compromise for each and every one of us. All of us exchanged looks from each other, giving it second thought.

"We're in. And this might be a good opportunity for me to work on my tan before the wedding" Sharpay said as she flipped her hair to her back and smiled.

"And I guess I could work on some recopies for the dinner while I'm out there" Zeke said sounding more enthusiastic as Sharpay planted a kiss on his lips.

"All right. Anyone else wanna take the offer?" Chad said sounding more happy. He looked around for anymore participants.

"Well, I guess Ryan and I could work on songs out there. We might get some inspiration too because the play is mostly about Mother Nature" Kelsi said, thinking it was a good opportunity for her also. Ryan nodded in agreement, although, you could see the words ached him.

"Troy?" I head Chad say my name. I looked up at him with a pained expression on my own face. I scratched the back of my neck and flipped my hair out of my eyes. Great! Now I was the only one left to decide, next to my wife.

Truth be told, I really didn't want to go camping. I really wasn't an outdoorsy kind of person to begin with. The very first time I went camping with Chad, I had came back home with several scars that were, in the beginning, mosquito bites, and I sprained my ankle on a hike. Since then, I hated camping more than anything. It was one thing to sleep outside with your mind playing tricks on you. But to go camping with an brainless buffoon who was the one playing tricks on _your_ mind the first time, a second time is a 'Hell No!'.

"Troy?" I heard my wife's sweet voice say. She smiled at me and stroked my hand with the pad of her thumb. Oh no... I knew what that look meant. She was actually going to take the risk going into labor while camping out at the lake? I think life just got harder for me. I turned to look at Chad whom was still awaiting my answer. That just did it for me. I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't find the balls to say 'no' with him staring at me with his stupid looking face, and I couldn't say 'no', knowing my wife was about to say the complete opposite! No! I couldn't do it. But I knew, very deep down, that once this three letter, and single syllable word escaped my mouth, I would regret it from here on out. And I would probably have to kill Chad for it in the future.

"All right, Chad. _Yes._ We're in too" I sighed. The room cheered lightly. When I saw the looks on everyone's faces, I somehow felt a little more excited to be going camping with my close friends before I put a stop to all nonsense that would have still been in my life before my wife got pregnant with both of our kids. As soon as we were all on the same page and everyone agreed, we all planned to get back home and start packing. We were told we would be leaving this weekend.

"Thanks, man. You won't be sorry. Trust me" Chad said excitedly as he threw his arm around my neck. I laughed nervously.

"I hope I can..." I muttered.

What the hell did I just do? That's _always_ me for 'ya!_ Troy Bolton, total pushover_. A pushover, I tell you! I just hoped that this trip would be worth it. Then again, I knew what I had just agreed to. And usually in the end, the jokes always on me.

**A/N: Just warming you guys up for the new story! I know this first chapter was sort of a blow for a 'first', but I'm still trying. Also I want to include more of the characters in this story. I really hope you guys will enjoy this one =]**


	2. Looks Like Trouble To Me

Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any such thing involved.

And today was the day. The day I would regret for the rest of my life. Chad and I and the rest of the gang were on our way to Fenton Lake. I have to admit, despite the trouble I was new from inside my gut was going to happen, I was really looking forward to this vacation. We all decided to take two cars out to the Lake. Chad co-paid for me to rent two Chevrolet Suburbans. Sharpay and Zeke carpooled with Gabriella, Aspen and I while Ryan and Kelsi carpooled with Taylor and Chad. We all could have taken one car but we had extra stuff with us. The drive was long and unbearable. Not only was it hot outside but I, of course, had to put up with Gabriella's constant urge to pee, and need food to satisfy her cravings and Sharpay and Zeke's battle over what songs to play at their wedding. And many times I ended up taking the wrong routes and exits which all involved equaled to an angry full car. I'm not complaining. I'm really not.

Okay, maybe I am, a little. But what could I say? I was practically forced against my will to come along for this trip. Like I said before, I could kill Chad for dragging me into this.

"Are we there yet?" Zeke asked for the hundredth time, leaning near the front seat where I was seated for driving. Gabriella had rode the rest of the way sleeping peacefully with a mask covering her eyes. All it took was a look at my fragile wife to forget when I was becoming irritable. The only time it didn't work is when she was awake, chewing _my_ head off.

"No, Zeke. We are _not_ there yet" I answered him, feeling annoyed. I looked at the GPS in the car and followed the instructions. Sadly, I was used to driving to where I needed to be, so I had no clue how to use or operate a navigation device. I wiped my forehead dry from the sweat I had been shedding since I'd been on the road. My first plan for when I got to the lake cabins were- _get to sleep!_

"When do you think we'll be there? My feet are killing me in these heels" Sharpay whined while cooling herself down with her mini fan.

"I tried to tell you to put on regular shoes and pack ONLY regular shoes before we left. Its not like we're going to the queens house or anything" Zeke said becoming annoyed with his fiancee's whining.

"Well I'm sorry if its such a crime to look fabulous everywhere I go" Sharpay snorted as she continued to play on her cell phone.

"Really though, Shar, who wears heels on a camping trip?" Zeke said as he threw his hands up in question while looking mildly irritated.

"Just one more hour..." I mumbled to myself as I continued driving. I hoped that this next hour would be quiet. Just listening to my wife beg and hearing Sharpay and Zeke's bickering was enough to make me ill.

"Mommy!" Aspen said waking up from sleeping in her car seat the whole car ride. Gabriella moaned and moved her head, being completely still in her seat during her one hour nap.

"Mommy!" Aspen repeated trying to get her mother's attention. I sighed and wondered when either Aspen would realize her mommy was asleep or Gabriella would wake up to answer her. Just then, Gabriella fidgeted again before removing the sleep mask from her face.

"What is it, sweetie?" she asked with a raspy voice and then yawned.

"I'm thirsty" Aspen said. Gabriella sighed.

"Shar, could you reach the very back seat and get Aspen's juice cup from her bag, please?" Gabriella asked humbly. Sharpay did so gladly. She used this opportunity to stretch out in her seat and remove her heels. She had been cramped in the back seat that she had to share with her fiancee and Aspen. She was stuck in the middle of the two.

"Here 'ya go, munchkin" Sharpay said as she handed Aspen her sippy cup.

"Thank you, Aunty Shar" Aspen said happily as she drank from her cup to quench her thirst. Gabriella looked around for any sign that we've arrived at the lake. But much to her wishful thinking, we still had an hour to go. I knew it seemed selfish for me to think so, but I hoped this hour would go by much faster than she did. Only because I wasn't ready to continue to put up with Zeke and Sharpay's patter _and_ Gabriella bitching at me every two seconds from making a wrong turn to just the way I was sitting in my seat while I was driving. Yep. This had been one hell of a drive.

An hour later;

We all finally arrived at Fenton Lake and saw where our cabins were located. I stepped out of the car and was amazed by the view in front of me. The lake was beautiful. The beautiful blue sky reflected on the refreshing cool water below it. The mountains were a healthy green color and there was a cool breeze to balance out the hot weather. Everything was perfect. Chad pulled up next to me in his rented car and I quickly realized I needed to help my wife out of the car. I went to her side and slowly helped her out. With that car having height, she needed my help. She took my hand and saw what I did. She inhaled the fresh lake air. It relaxed her.

"Troy!" Chad yelled from his car, engine still running and everyone buckled in.

"What?" I yelled back.

"Our cabins are _that_ way!" He yelled. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and looked in the direction he pointed to. I frowned. I was looking at cabins that looked like they were poorly kept and in low maintenance. I was afraid to even take my wife back there. I looked at her facial expression. She didn't look to happy. I sighed and led her back into the car as we drove a little more to the other side of the lake. I didn't even have a chance to get out of the car before I heard Zeke and Sharpay arguing about the wedding again. Now I was certain that I regretted going on the trip. Once Chad and I were out of our cars, we were being approached by a man that stood 5'11, had brown hair, brown eyes and was with a woman. It was the campsite property owner and his wife.

"Hello, I'm Simon Ellis and this is my wife, Karen" he introduced himself and his wife, shaking mine and Chad's hands.

"How do you do?" his wife asked.

"Very well, thank you" Chad responded shaking Karen's hand. I smiled at the young woman. I didn't know if it were my imagination or the heat stroke I suffered from earlier or Mrs. Karen Ellis was making goo goo eyes at me. Simon looked middle aged and his wife looked about my age and had very long dark brown hair and hazel eyes and seemed to grin a lot.

"Welcome to Fenton Lake. We're just here to let you know that if you have any questions concerning your guys' cabin, we're here to help. And it's also our pleasure to inform you about our annual Labor Day barbeque coming up if you guys are interested" Simon said.

"Wow, that sounds awesome" I said with a smile and chuckle.

"Yes, its a tradition we do for the campers here every year. We would be humbled if you guys would participate" Karen said with her eyes still on me. I was beginning to feel a bit awkward with her staring at me. Soon the awkward feeling drifted away when my wife waddled to my side while she stroked her protruding belly. She smiled her beautiful smile at me as I gladly threw my arm behind her back.

"Who is this young lady?" Simon asked.

"My apologies, this is my wife, Gabriella Bolton. Gabs, this is the campsite property owner Simon Ellis and his wife Karen" I said as I stroked her back.

"Nice to meet you both" Gabriella said soft-spoken.

"Hello, Mrs. Bolton" Simon said shaking Gabby's hand. Karen examined her and gave sort of an unpleasant look once she saw Gabby's big stomach.

"Charmed" Karen muttered bitterly.

Okay. Now I know I wasn't going crazy. I knew that woman had eyes for me. According to the way she just looked at my wife, it was no doubt nor was it my imagination. Gabriella, being unaware of Karen's scrutiny just smiled at her. Karen's facial expression changed quickly to a polite and phony smile. I didn't have a good feeling about this.

"I see your expecting" Karen pointed out in a kind and soft voice, trying to hide her unheard of feelings.

"Yep" Gabriella said as she stroked her tummy again. "Magic number two is on his way" she smiled lovingly as she looked at me. I smiled back at her. I couldn't help but immediately look back at Karen, searching for more signs of hidden feelings, showing in her expression. And there she did, her eyes widened a bit when Gabriella mentioned this being our _second_ child.

"Oh, you guys have.. another child?" Karen stammered as she looked up at me. I nodded with a weak smile as I showed my daughter to her whom was standing beside Sharpay and Zeke.

"How sweet" Karen replied, bitterness almost being evident in her voice. I scratched the back of my neck nervously, hoping Gabriella wasn't sensing what I was.

"How long have you two been married for?" Simon asked, completely oblivious to what Gabriella wasn't seeing either.

"Two years" Gabriella chuckled. And again, Karen smiled politely hiding her emotions with her pearly whites.

"Lovely. Well, don' t let us hold you guys up. So here are your keys to everything you need and like we said, if there are any problems, just come and tell us if we could be any help. Enjoy your time" Simon said as him and his wife shook our hands one more time before returning back to their office. I sighed of relief to be away from that awkward situation. I motioned Gabriella toward the cabin and to find unpleasant looks on each of the couples' faces. I had forgotten about the downgraded cabin.

"What in the hell is _this_ supposed to be?" Sharpay asked seeming angry. I shrugged at the blonde and turned to Gabriella whom also had an uneasy look on her face, not being able to explain why the cabins looked poorly kept.

"Obviously someone that owns this property doesn't know how to keep it orderly and in tact" Ryan said examining the outside of the cabin. I sighed again and spoke up.

"Hey, you guys. Don't judge a book by it's cover. You never know what could be on the inside" I said trying to sound as cheerful and convincing as possible. Honestly, I was afraid to find out what was in the cabin, myself. I twisted the key in the lock and jiggled the handle open.

What I feared I would see came to life. Inside the cabin was hideous and definitely filthy. Everything was dusty, there were spider webs on each corner of the walls and the floors creaked like a haunted house. I turned around to see my friends, also fearing the looks on their faces. They all glared at me evilly. I hadn't seen looks like that since I screwed them over with the talent show Junior year in high school. I hoped I would never see that again. Chad walked up and tapped me on the shoulder.

"You messed up, Troy" Sharpay said as she carried her suitcase through the door.

"Hey, _I_ didn't make the reservations, _Chad _did!" I yelled defensively.

"You co-signed!" Chad yelled back smacking my chest.

"Yeah, but you're the brains of the outfit!" I argued smacking his chest back. The two of us repeatedly smack each other's chest and continued our pointless bicker until Taylor pulled us apart coming in between us with her travel bags.

"Enough, now! We're here on vacation, remember?" she said casually as she continued to walk by us.

"Pft! You call this a vacation spot, Taylor?" Sharpay asked, her eyes invisible and hiding behind her huge bug eye sunglasses.

"Yes, Shar. Its a get away with ours truly. That's a vacation" Taylor sassed. Sharpay pouted and looked for a room that didn't look as damaged as the rest of the house that she could possibly turn into her own cozy room.

"Troy, honey. Could you get my suitcase up the stairs for me?" Gabby asked as she rubbed her lower back. I smiled and kissed her as I gladly took her bags and led her up the stairs. Taylor and Chad had decided to room next to Sharpay and Zeke's room while Gabby and I roomed next to Kelsi and Ryan. I much preferred to be next to Kelsi and Ryan so that my wife and I did not have to try to sleep through Zeke and Sharpay's bickering about the wedding.

Once everyone was settled in, all of us had met downstairs in the front of the cabin. Me, Chad and Zeke were chopping fire wood, Ryan and Kelsi went food shopping for the cabin while Taylor, Sharpay and Gabriella said inside the cabin resting.

"I don't get it, man! Why do _we_ have to do all of the work while the ladies sit inside and chill and the music king and queen get to shop?" Zeke whined.

"Because, its our job" I said as I stopped for a second and wiped the sweat from my forehead.

"I feel like a slave" Chad muttered. I giggled at Chad's comment.

"Hey, Troy" Chad said telling me to come closer. I lowered my eyebrows. I looked back at the cabin a few times, making sure the girls weren't watching us and that they were completely earshot.

"So, the camp owner's wife. What was that about?" he asked. I rolled my eyes, now knowing that I wasn't just seeing things when I saw the jealousy of Gabriella in Karen's eyes. I was a bit surprised because I always thought Chad could never pay enough attention to the things I saw.

"I don't know man. I think she's got the hots for me" I said. Chad nodded and smiled stupidly. I shrugged at him, wondering how he found it amusing.

"Nothing, man. Just help me finish chopping this fire wood so we can get inside" Chad said smacking my arm and resumed chopping the logs. I shook my head and went back to work.

About fifteen minutes later, we had enough fire wood for the night. Each of us guys carried a log into the house. I turned around after dropping the log in the fireplace to realize Chad had too many logs on his shoulder.

"You need some help, man?" I offered.

"Nah, I got it" he said losing balance. Soon Chad tripped over one of Sharpay's suitcases, she must have been rummaging through, and fell to the floor. The logs had put a whole in the brittle wall where a little bit of dust came flying when it did. The girls gasped when they heard the crash noise.

"Chad!" I yelled I saw the hole in the wall and could almost faint.

"Sorry, man. That was my bad" Chad said apologetically. I fanned my hands in the air and walked up to the bedroom to shower.

Lord, have mercy! Just when I thought things weren't going to get worse, it did. In the time that I spent getting undressed to going to take a shower, I had fell into closet and broke another whole in the wall, where now you could see inside Ryan and Kelsi's room. I ended up breaking the shower head off of the wall in the bathroom and I think I might have broke the toilet as well. I instantly grew sick of the place. This sure as hell isn't what I paid to stay at! It was clear to me that the cabin was not only old and beat up, but the owner didn't even have the pleasure to replace what seemed to be broken. I changed back into my regular clothes and went downstairs. It was getting darker outside as the hours flew by.

"Troy!" Chad yelled from downstairs. What did that buffoon want now? I marched down the staircase and went into the kitchen where Chad was _trying_ to cook dinner. I knew he couldn't cook to save his life.

"What do you want, man?" I asked still annoyed from my trip to the shower.

"I need you to go and talk to the land owner about these faucets, they're pretty crappy" Chad said trying to run hot water at the kitchen sing.

"There's a hardware store up down the road, you could go there and see if they're still open" Ryan suggested.

"Nah, I gotta talk the owner anyway. There was an incident in the bathroom" I said as I left the cabin to go talk to Simon. I stood in front of the office knocking, hoping he was still available. I sighed as I stood there waiting for a response. Then I went to the window to peek in the blinds and mentally slapped myself for missing the easy-to-read '_CLOSED_' sign. Soon, I heard footsteps approaching. The footsteps sounded light, like a woman's footsteps. I hoped it wasn't Gabriella since I reminded her many times today to rest. I was taken by surprise when I saw the face of the footsteps. It was Mrs. Karen Ellis.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Bolton. But we're closed for the night" Karen said.

"Do you know what time you guys will be open tomorrow?" I asked not showing my nervousness.

"We open up at 8:00" Karen smiled, the dim porch light shining down on her face.

"Then I guess I'll come back in the morning" I said as I was about to walk back to the cabin.

"Is there something you need, Mr. Bolton?" she asked. I turned on my heel to face her. I figured I would just get it over with now and ask her about the showers and faucets in the cabin.

"Well, yeah. There been an incident with the shower in our cabin and our faucets are running water very slow like, the water pressure is low or something" I explained. She smiled, chuckled and just kept on staring at me through the dim light, making me feel more uncomfortable than before.

"Don't worry, I'll have Simon look at it in the morning when you guys wake up. Until then, just don't run anymore water. You all just try to get some sleep" she said.

"Thank you" I said as I walked back to the cabin trying to forget that I even saw her. Nothing was fooling me now because I was certain she had a thing for me. But I couldn't figure out why and how? She was married to Simon, even though she did look really young to be married to him, and she and her husband were running a great business. I really didn't have good feelings about that girl. But like always, I have to wait for more facts to gather before I could jump to any conclusions.

Once I reached the cabin, I saw my wife sitting in a rocking chair next to the fire place as she hummed a lullaby to Aspen so that she could sleep. I smiled at her, just watching her sitting there rocking our daughter to sleep, Aspen holding onto her belly as she rested her head on her mother's chest. Gabriella had so much love in her, she sent that vibe off to everyone who stood in her presence. Then, I noticed that Chad had given up on cooking and decided to serve microwavable food to the house. Why hadn't he just done that earlier? Because Chad has a brain the size of a sesame seed, that's why. I would have to wait until tomorrow to kill him for not looking over the brochure for the campsite carefully before just picking any cabin. We had got the worst of them all. I only hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.

**A/N: Too much of Troy's point of view? Its only the first two chapters. Later on, more characters will have their part in the story, trust me. Hope you enjoy it so far!**


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